Motion Offense Can Be Great If...

Basketball is underway!

NBA and college has begun and high school is almost ready to start. What a great time of the year. I am honored to bring you this basketball blog. Each week you will be receiving my basketball blog (often times more than once). In the blog will be tips on basketball skills, practice strategies, and other useful information that can be implemented immediately. So here we go...

Weekly Skill Tip: From TJ. Fredette

Skill: Jump Shot

Drill: Alternating Elbow Jumpers

Action: - stand on one elbow on the court and spin the
ball to the opposite elbow

- run to the ball and catch it on the first bounce

- Use inside foot to pivot and face the basket
(square your shoulders and feet)

- bend knees, elevate, and take jump shot

- follow your shot, if you miss, lay the ball in the basket

- after putting the ball in, go to the opposite elbow and
repeat the drill

Practice Strategy

Each practice should have a theme. This theme should be dedicated to what you want to accomplish and what you want the team to focus on. For example; you might want to put a big emphasis on defensive help. When you address the team at the beginning of practice you should write this theme on the board "help defense." Then you want to go over what you want your team to focus on with regards to help defense. During practice when you demonstrate and walk your team through situations of help defense, the players will have a mental focus dedicate to the theme of the day.

The important thing to note is the theme of the day can't be a one time thing. In other words, you don't want a focus of help defense today and then tomorrow when you have a new theme the help defense is forgotten. It should all be a progression of building better team play.

The great thing about having a theme is you can really tap into the mental focus of your players simply by putting it down on the board and talking about it with importance. I have found this to be a helpful practice strategy over the years.

Motion Offense Issues???

One of the most popular offenses today is the motion offense. There are so many variation of this offensive system. The motion offense allows for great variety and flexibility. You can run motion to set up your key scorers, you can run motion to run down the clock, you can run motion to create mismatches, you can run motion to create backdoor plays or three-point shots. It is all in how you emphasize the offense.

There are some teams that use one or two low post players at screeners in the motion offense. While other teams allow all five players handle the ball anywhere on the court. The key to the motion offense is the coach must dictate what a good shot and a bad shot is for each player.

The motion offense, if left untamed, can have issues. You don't want your worst three-point shooter or your worst passer trying to perform those skills in the motion offense. The coach must set rules for each player. When a low post player catches the ball outside the three-point line and he or she is unable to make a three-point shot, it needs to be a rule that this player does not take that shot. Now, you can't just leave it at that rule. You have to give this person the options he or she has. They might be capable of making a good low post pass, or doing a hand-off screen. The point is each player has to know his or her limitations. This way the motion offense can run smoothly.

So the motion offense, as great as it can be, has to be evaluated from the players standpoint and abilities. This makes the offense better because everyone understands their role and can execute their roles well.

If you coach college or youth basketball, the motion offense has a place. You, as the coach, must make the offense fit the players you have. If you run the motion offense as your primary offense or if you run it occasionally, don't let your players define their roles because everyone thinks their a point guard and everyone thinks they can shot the 3s. Have fun!

Play Hard,

Lee

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